Will
We arrived in front of Tessa's house, very conveniently situated next to ours. After making sure she was safe, I reversed the car into our driveway, and headed towards the front door with Cecily following behind me. I fished the house keys out of my pocket and unlocked the door, sighing. Cecily skipped inside ahead of me, while I lingered back, running my fingers over my scalp. Out of all the places that she could have lived, she just had to live next to us. It was hard enough to conceal my feelings without having to see her on a daily basis. These next few years were going to be hard on me.
Stupid Will, I chided. Stay away from her, or watch helplessly as she gets hurt, while knowing that you were responsible. Is it so hard?
But it was. And to make things worse, Cecily insisted on befriending her. She just had to make things harder for me, even if she didn't mean to. Stupid… stupid…
"Will!" Cecily called from right next to me. With a start, I jumped and faced her.
"What?" I snapped. Cecily frowned.
"What's wrong now? I just wanted to ask you when mum and dad would be home. They said they were going to be home half an hour ago," She said, crossing her arms indignantly.
"How am I supposed to know?! I know as much as you do! Just leave me alone will you?"
Cecily glared at me.
"Just give them a call, Will. Something could be wrong."
I growled at the ceiling. I wasn't in the mood right now, and Cecily was only making things worse. I took my phone out of my jeans pocket and dialled their number. I sighed angrily as I waited for them to pick up. On the second ring, dad's voice came on.
"Will? Is something wrong?"
"No dad," I replied, trying to keep my annoyed tone out of my speech. "Cecily just wanted to know what's taking so long."
"I texted her. We're just stuck in a traffic jam at the freeway. There was a gas leak. Several exits are closed off. We'll be home in around an hour. Can you make dinner? Don't wait for us."
"You sure?" I asked.
"Yes. Your mum and I will drop by for takeaway. Stay safe you two." He hung up.
I glared at Cecily. "Traffic jam," I told her. "Texted your phone. Now don't bother me."
Cecily huffed and stomped up to her room.
I headed off into the kitchen, clenching my teeth. Idiot. Doesn't know when is enough. I opened the pantry and took out everything I needed for spaghetti: Pasta, sauce, mushrooms etc. and started cooking. I turned on the fire to boil the pasta, when my phone buzzed from my pocket. Surprised, I jerked my hand, touching the hot saucepan. Cursing, I ran to the sink and held my hand under the faucet, turning on the cold water.
My sister must have heard me swear, because she came rushing down the stairs. She wrapped her arms around my waist and put her chin on my shoulder, peeking over me. When she saw my burnt hand, she shook her head and went to the freezer and grabbed a handful of ice, wrapping it in the tea towel hanging on the rack nearby.
"Sit down, Will. I'll cook."
"I'm fine," I grumbled, not wanting to give in so easily. Cecily gave me a threatening look.
"Sit down, Will. I've got this." She tossed me her handmade icepack. "Leave that on it. How'd you burn it?"
"Touched the saucepan. Trust me Cecily, I'm fine."
She turned to the pasta, smirking. "Idiot," she muttered.
After all the fuss, I forgot about how I burnt my hand in the first place. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and turned it on.
"Missed call. Weird," I said to myself. Cecily looked over and smiled slightly. Confused, I redialled the number and hopped off the chair, plopping myself onto the couch. Almost immediately, the person picked up.
"Hello?" Tessa's voice rang into my ears. No fricking way…
"Tessa? Is that you?" I asked hesitantly.
"Uh, who is this?" she asked. "Is this Will?" She recognises my voice, I thought absently.
"Um yeah. Did you need anything? I mean… uh, you called me earlier."
There was a pause.
"I did? Um, I don't have your number."
"Yeah. About five minutes ago."
"Five… oh, I called Cecily. She gave me her number earlier today. I think she gave me the wrong number. Sorry."
Cecily… I turned and glared at her. She gave me a lopsided smile, before turning back to the pasta.
"My sister's an idiot. Did you need anything though?"
"Um, I was just going to ask Cecily for help with my unpacking, but if she's busy, that's fine. I can manage on my own. My brother's still out."
I looked at Cecily again. "Um, she's making dinner, but I could come over to help."
"Will, you don't need to do that. Don't worry. I can handle it. It's fine."
"Nothing is 'fine' without me. Don't worry Tessa. I'll be over in five."
I hung up before she could protest.
"You idiot! You gave her my number? Why would you do that?" I glared at Cecily.
She shrugged.
"You gotta learn to make friends. This Tessa is nice. Quite the looker too isn't she?"
"So is that it? You're trying to set us up? I don't appreciate that Cecily. You would know that. You're my sister. You would know that better than anyone."
"Will, what's wrong? Honestly. You can tell me anything. What's bothering you?"
"Noth–"
"And don't you dare say it's nothing. I know it's something."
"Nothing Cecily. Shut up."
She paused.
"Is it because of Ella?" My silence must have said something, because she turned off the fire and strode up to me. She hugged me. "Will, you need to stop this. That was so many years ago. What would she say if she knew you were letting it affect you this badly? She'd be damn pissed. You need to move on."
I pulled out of Cecily's embrace. I was angry, confused, hurt, and my heart felt raw, vulnerable. I turned around, grabbing my phone and house key.
"I'm heading off to Tessa's place." I muttered over my shoulder.
"Okay."
"I'll be back for dinner."
"I don't expect you to."
I walked out of the house, but not before saving Tessa's number into my contacts.